Apparently the email address <bulletin@unb.ca> is presently not working.
The problem should be fixed soonish. In the meantime, please send items
to <jgeyssen@unb.ca>. If you tried to send something that didn't make
it through, I'll get a special bulletin out ASAP. My apologies for any
problems this might have caused.

As always, there were fewer submissions in this contest than I had hoped
(perhaps that will change this year with the new, larger prizes). There
were seven entries altogether (all except one from Western Canada), all
of excellent quality. The entries that stood out were well written,
carefully argued, and offered an original perspective on an aspect of
Classical antiquity.

First prize:

Daniel Shapiro (University of Winnipeg) for "'Departing the
University': A Satire in the Horatian Manner and Commentary." This
essay is an erudite and amusing "autobiographical" account of a
purported debate between Bill O'Reilly and Rex Murphy, in which the
author skewers contemporary journalism (as a particularly egregious
example of the current lack of concern for objective rationality) in the
manner of Horace's Satires as a way of suggesting moral reform.

Second Prize:

Daniel Unruh (University of British Columbia) for "Sons of Gods: Divine
Representations of Alexander and Augustus." This essay is an interesting
examination of how and why Alexander and Augustus associate themselves
with the gods in their visual representations but are also careful to
distance themselves from divine status in these representations.

Third Prize:

Laura Wilson (University of Winnipeg) for "Heracles' Twelve Steps to
Mt. Olympus Board Game." Though playing an entertaining game, players
not only test their knowledge of the trivia relating to Heracles, but
also must recognize the significance of the recurring themes and
underlying meanings of the various components of the myth.

Senior Contest

The number of entries in this contest this year was disappointing also
(although the increase in the monetary value of the prizes may ameliorate
the situation next year). There were twelve altogether, from six
universities from across Canada (all regions were represented). Although
all the essays were excellent, the best offered a thorough and careful
analysis of the topic chosen, with appropriate reference both to the
ancient sources and to modern scholarship.

First Prize:

Colin Alexander Murray (University of Toronto) for "The Temple of Aphaia
in a Broader Scope." This essay ties the sculptural program of the
temple into the broader interests of the elite ruling class of Aegina
rather than into a specific causal event.

Second Prize:

Émilie-Jade Poliquin (Université Laval) for "Le Commentaire au songe de
Scipion au sein de la tradition cosmologique." In this essay, the author
emphasizes the originality of Macrobius in his cosmological discussion,
and demonstrates an excellent command of the complicated astrological
material as well as modern views on the subject.

Third Prize:

Maciej Pach (University of Western Ontario) for "The Byzantine Economy
of the Eleventh Century: A Turning Point." In a well-written and
carefully argued essay, the author successfully demonstrates that the
economic downturn in the eleventh-century Byzantine economy had
far-reaching political effects. (NB: while the subject matter may appear
to be outside the chronological range of what is usually considered
Classics, it should be noted that this essay was submitted for an
undergraduate course in Classics at a Canadian university.)

Honorable Mention:

Athena Economopoulos (University of Western Ontario) for "Burial Rites
and Funeral Lamentations: Women's Roles in Ancient and Modern Greece."
The author offers some interesting personal observations on the parallels
in the rites of lamentation in the societies of ancient and modern
Greece.

The CAC is pleased to announce a long overdue increase in the values of
the prizes awarded in the Association's Sight Translation and Essay
Competitions. The new prize tariffs are listed on the relevant pages of
the CAC website.

The Department of Modern Languages and Classics invites applications for
a tenure-track appointment in Classics at the rank of Assistant Professor
starting July 1, 2006. The successful candidate will be involved in
active research and teaching in at least one of the following areas:
Greek and/or Roman History, Classical Literature or Classical
Archaeology. Undergraduate teaching duties in Classics presently include
Latin and Greek, Ancient History, Classical Myth and Literature, Women in
Antiquity and the History of Ancient Art. This new appointment will be
expected to enhance and further develop these and related areas in
Classics. Applicants should hold a Ph.D. or be near completion of the
degree, and demonstrate considerable promise in teaching, research and
scholarly publication. A letter of application accompanied by an
up-to-date curriculum vitae, the names of three referees, a one page
statement outlining the candidate's approach to teaching Classics and
recent teaching evaluations should be sent to:

University of Arkansas
Tenure-track Position (Assistant Professor) in Classical Studies

The Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Arkansas invites
applications from advanced ABDs and PhDs for a tenure-track position in
the Classical Studies Program at the rank of Assistant Professor, to
begin August 14, 2006. The candidate should have a research specialty in
ancient art history; an emphasis on late antique and early Byzantine art
is particularly welcome. Salary is competitive. The successful candidate
will be expected to teach a wide range of courses in ancient and medieval
art, classical civilization, Greek, and Latin. The Classical Studies
Program has a close relationship with Humanities, and the candidate will
eventually participate in an interdisciplinary, team-taught honors
humanities course. In addition, there are study abroad programs in
Greece and Rome that Classical Studies faculty lead on a rotating basis.
The Classical Studies Program has made a strong commitment to innovative
teaching with technology, and is interested in a candidate with
demonstrated facility in presentation software and website design. The
position requires an active research program, professional service
potential, and evidence of excellent teaching.

Review of the applications will begin on December 1, 2005.

Please send a
letter of application, writing sample (max. 30 pp.), curriculum vitae,
transcripts, and three letters of support to:

Days of Gold: Nostalgia and the Idealized Past
Classics Graduate Student Association of the University of Virginia

The Classics Graduate Student Association of the University of Virginia
invites papers for its tenth Graduate Student Colloquium, "Days of Gold:
Nostalgia and the Idealized Past," to be held in Charlottesville,
Virginia, on Saturday, March 25, 2006.

The keynote speaker will be Christopher Pelling, Regius Professor of
Greek at Christ Church, Oxford. Professor Pelling has published primarily
and extensively on ancient biography, including Plutarch and History
(2002), and historiography, including Literary Texts and the Greek
Historian (2000).

As classicists we are constantly in contact with romantic and idealized
versions of the past. This colloquium seeks to explore the construction
of these ideal pasts by considering the question of how ancient
literature and art conceive and represent a "golden" image of antiquity.
For instance, what techniques and motifs do poets and prose writers
employ, and how are these different from each other or from the
strategies used by other artists? What motivations drive authors and
artists to create Golden Ages or other idealized views of history? What
role does idealization play in philosophy and cult? How does such
idealization affect the human and divine past, either together or
separately? Are there instances where such an idealized past is resisted
or even ridiculed? How and why? In what ways does this tendency continue
to have an effect on representations of the classical world in medieval,
Renaissance, and modern times — even in contemporary classical
scholarship?

We welcome submissions from classical studies and related fields,
including art history, history, philosophy, comparative literature, etc.
Abstracts should be one page in length and submitted anonymously to:

Submissions by e-mail are encouraged. These should take the form of an
anonymous attachment: the body of the e-mail should include your name,
address, and the title of your paper. Abstracts should be submitted by
December 31, 2005 and all applicants will be informed of their status by
February 15, 2006. Questions may be directed to Dan Barber
(dtb3t@virginia.edu). This announcement and updates may be found at the
colloquium website (http://www.virginia.edu/classics/colloquium2006/).

Roman North Africa was one of the most significant components of the
Roman Empire, home of the Severans, Apuleius, Tertullian, and Augustine.
Sites to be visited include: Tripoli, Sabratha, Leptis Magna, Benghasi,
Apollonia, Cyrene, Carthage, Thurburbo, Dugga, Bulla Regia, Kairouan (the
Great Mosque), El-Djem, and Sousse (Hadrumetum).

"Our Villa at Cumae is situated beside the remains of the earliest Greek
colony on the Italian mainland, inspiring this program's theme of Magna
Graecia. As we survey the remains we'll be walking in the footsteps and
discussing the thoughts of Presocratic philosophers who came West,
including Xenophanes, Pythagoras, and Parmenides." Sites to be visited
include: Naples, Ischia, Cumae, Pozzuoli, Baia, Herculaneum, Stabia,
Velia, Pompeii, Villa di Oplontis, Paestum, Metaponto, Taranto, Bari,
Bitonto, Ruvo, and Trani.

This session will focus on the social history of ancient Greeks and
Romans along Naples Bay, exploring the everyday life of the freeborn,
freedmen, and slaves. Sites to be visited include: Terracina, Sperlonga,
Cumae, Pozzuoli, Pompeii, Naples, Amalfi, Herculaneum, Vesuvius,
Saepinum, Capri, Oplontis, Paestum, Capua, Beneventum, Baia, Bacoli, and
Misenum.